West Shore Regional Police to be latest department to embrace community policing style

"There's no reason we can't try to create more of a collaborative approach to police work here," - Chief Michael Hope.

Over the next few weeks, some residents in the west shore communities of Wormleysburg and Lemoyne may get the impression that local police are getting friendlier.

According to West Shore Regional Police Chief Michael Hope, this is not the case. In Hope's mind, his officers have always been friendly: They'll just be making more of an effort to interact with the public on a non-enforcement level thanks to a new community policing program announced by the department this week.

"It's a weekend detail that tries to get the officers out of their cars and into the community," Hope said of the effort Tuesday. "To get them to walk around for about 30 minutes in a park or at a football game. I want them to get out of their vehicles and talking to the community they serve."

While the concept of openly personable, talkative law enforcement officers may seem a novel idea to some, the community policing angle — which seeks to create greater trust and cooperation from the public by cultivating positive interactions with residents — is an idea that's gaining traction in recently in more than one midstate department.

Just last week, Harrisburg's interim police Chief Thomas Carter reiterated his support for a more citizen-friendly police force, an approach to law enforcement he feels was all too often disregarded and even discouraged in the past.

"I was criticized in the past for being too people-friendly … I was held back, I was laughed at," Carter said at a public safety hearing hosted by a mayoral candidate in the city last week. "… But the only way to have a strong police department is through the heart of the community and the citizenry of this city."

Hope seemed to agree with his fellow chief's sentiments, but with a much smaller department — West Shore police consists of a staff of 12, including administrative employees — the community policing effort will begin as a weekend-only initiative in short, 30-minute efforts so as not to risk hampering the department's enforcement duties.

"There's only a couple of police officers to cover some 6,000 or so residents, plus we have the people who come into the area to work or conduct business," Hope said. "But there's no reason we can't try to create more of a collaborative approach to police work here."

Combined with the foot patrols, which will be encouraged for officers on-duty during the morning and early afternoon shifts, Hope is also looking to beef up police presence around the Washington Heights Elementary School in Lemoyne.

"I want our officers to be able to meet the children so the children can feel a little bit more comfortable with police outside of an enforcement role," he said. "We have emotions, we have feelings, too. We're just regular people."

So far the program is slated to last through Halloween, at which point Hope plans to evaluate the department's effort and make a plan to move forward, he said.

"Residents should be able to say, 'Hey, I know who that is; that's officer Capers and there's Lt. Karnes,' Or, 'Hey, that's Chief Hope,'" he said.

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